military nudists

[John Maddox Roberts]

While I realize that the practice of depicting hoplites as nearly or completely nude is an artistic convention, I wonder if it might not have had some basis in fact. My example is the Chigi vase. Of the four figures whose lower bodies are visible, two are wearing kilt/loincloth things, two wear nothing except their armor. If nudity is convention, why this half-and-half thing? We know that Greeks were, to say the least, uninhibited in regard to (male) nudity. They were very observant, and may well have noted that when stabbed or cut on the bare flesh, wounds often healed cleanly while wounds made through clothes invariably became septic, so it would make sense to wear nothing at all where you were not armored.<br>
Any thoughts? <p></p><i></i>